


I may not be a prince [english]

by m0ningusuta



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Angst, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/F, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29675487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m0ningusuta/pseuds/m0ningusuta
Summary: ❝I'm sorry I'm not your average Prince Charming.❞After the events of Dragon Games, Darling can't help but wonder how she really feels about Apple, for her part, the entire fate of Snow White' successor will be in danger as she questions whether she really wants to follow her tale.
Relationships: Darling Charming/Apple White
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Kisses and knights.

Summer had arrived when doubts began to gnaw at Darling's mind. The heat was stifling. It had been only a week or two since the chaotic event that nearly ended the fairy tale world, it had been a week or two since Apple had been poisoned. The school resumed its splendor faster than anyone could have imagined, once the evil queen was imprisoned, everything seemed to be going wonderfully well.

There was a rumor going around the hallways about Daring not being Apple's prince, since he could not wake her up, but what no one was talking about was how Darling was the one who woke her up, only the few people present at that moment knew, and it seemed that no one was willing to talk about it.

Although no one mentioned it, everyone questioned who woke her up, because if not the blonde boy, then who was it?, Apple didn't seem to be aware of this at the time, she knew it wasn't Daring, but she was afraid to ask who it was if not him.

Darling, on the other hand, had many thoughts according to that "kiss", she panicked, she didn't know what to do and the only thing she could think of was to make a vain attempt at CPR when she saw how Apple was trembling, It was a rather abrupt movement, but the moment their lips touched, she was magically awakened, and though she didn't want to think about it, Darling knew it could only mean one thing.

‘I wanted to be like a prince, but Snow White's Prince Charming?’ was a thought that invaded her mind every moment, one would have seen such a thing, not only that a prince was a woman, but that THE PRINCE of Snow White was a woman, no doubt it could be a scandal that would make everyone lose their minds.

She rested her head on her desk and sighed way louder than what she would have liked.

“Miss Charming!,” a shout brought her out of her thoughts. “Hope you are listening to the lesson.”

“Yes, I do, Professor Rumpelstiltskin.” she hastened to say with a broad smile as she got a disapproving look from her teacher.

She continued the rest of the class looking out the window, the last thing she was able to do was focus.

When the bell finally rang, she picked up her notebooks, which contained not a single note in them, and rose from her seat.

“Hey, everything okay Darling?” Cerise approached her, apparently her recent lack of concentration was very noticeable.

“Yes, yes, everything is fine, I'm just a little tired, I didn't sleep well last night.” and it was true, she hadn't slept well the last few days, but that wasn't exactly the reason for her inattention.

“Okay... You know you can tell me if something happens, don't you?” the brunette arched an eyebrow, they were friends and she knew something was clearly wrong.

“Absolutely, it's nothing, believe me.” she tucked one of her light blonde curls behind her ear and gave her a smile.

Both girls continued chatting and left the classroom on their way to the cafeteria.

In the distance, they observed the beautiful figure of a blonde girl surrounded by a bunch of boys, it was Apple White, who undoubtedly looked as beautiful as any other day, and that was something that no one would be able to deny.

Darling watched her classmate for a few seconds, then looked away and kept walking, which her friend Cerise didn't miss.

“Apple is always surrounded by guys, don't you think? It must be so annoying..." mumbled the brunette.

“I guess, it doesn't seem to bother her, though.”Despite being relatively popular due to her lineage and especially her controversial revelation as a knight, Darling preferred not to draw a lot of attention, she had never been the type of person who enjoyed being around people, but she found it admirable how Apple managed the masses, she was undoubtedly a born leader, something she could never really say about herself.

At a certain point, Apple's eyes landed on Darling, and as their gazes collided, the former raised her hand in the air diligently to greet her friend in the distance, Darling froze for a second, and then returned the gesture, eliciting a smile from the blonde.

After their sudden meeting, they continued on their way to the cafeteria, and sat together at a far table, normally Darling sat alone, even away from her older siblings, but be with someone who enjoyed company as little as she did was satisfying, she had become good friends with Cerise Hood a while ago now, and her company was quite pleasant.

“It's hot as hell, don't you think?” Darling decided to be more active in the conversation, maybe then she would stop thinking so much.

“Well, summer usually gets pretty intense at Ever After High, it's a shame nothing interesting has happened the last few days.”

“Well, Blondie hasn't brought any fresh news, but I guess that's good somehow, isn't it? I like action, but I prefer things to be quiet.”

“I think you're right, his last gossip was about Apple and Daring breaking up, but I guess you already heard about that, the whole school is talking about it, plus, well, he's your brother.”

A shiver ran down his back, of course she had found out, it was one of his most recurring thoughts lately.

“They weren't even dating," she said in a meaner way than it sounded in her own mind. “I mean, they were only together because it was what our parents always wanted, they weren't a couple, Daring dates any girl he want to, he's definitely a womanizer.”

A small blush flooded the brunette's cheeks at the latter. Meanwhile, Darling was internally begging for her friend not to bring up the subject of the kiss that woke Apple up.

“Wait, so your parents wanted a relationship between them?”

“You could say so, it's not like they're being forced into anything, but you know, they're Royals, they want to do everything their parents tell them to do.” she paused a little and wrinkled her nose. “My mother introduced us to Apple when we were very young, probably about five or six at the time, she was accompanied by her mother, Snow White, they set us up on a sort of play date, mostly for Daring and her, it happened many more times, but they stopped doing it when we were like 11, you know, princess training.”

“Training for... princess?”

“Oh yes, you know, walking straight, dancing, singing, private lessons, it's quite common in most noble families when their daughters start puberty.”

“Gee, don't take it wrong, but that sounds like a nightmare to me.” She exclaimed and then took a bite of her piece of meat.

“Worry not, I didn't like it either, since I was little my mother forbade me to play with the boys to be a knight, but when I reached that age she was even stricter, wasn't something I actually enjoyed.”

“I can tell… but leaving that aside, does that mean you and Apple have known each other since you were kids?, I've never seen you two talking.”

“Well, yes and no, we know each other, of course, our families are very good friends and even now.... I mean... Until recently, I saw her frequently when she went home for dinner with Daring during the vacations, but we've never really been... Close, it's more of a political relationship.”

“I see...” Cerise didn't seem to fully understand the nobles' questions, she looked somewhat confused.

A few minutes later the bell rang once again, this time announcing that it was time to return to class.

The day went on just as the last few before that had, with Darling not paying a bit of attention to his classes and with his mind in another world.

When it was finally time to go to her bedroom, she lay down on the bed, hoping to sleep a little better, at least for one night. Rosabella hadn't arrived yet, but she was sure that the girl would not be long in coming.

She was sick of thinking about the same thing over and over again, she just wanted to rest, to have the memory of Apple waking up out of her mind, but try as she might she couldn't, Darling covered her head with a pillow and finally fell asleep.


	2. Long ago in a place far away.

The sun was shining on a green meadow full of freshly watered grass, it was early in the morning when the hooves of a pair of horses stepped on that grass, a little girl, maybe six years old was peering expectantly through the small window of an ostentatious carriage, she opened her eyes wide every time she saw something interesting, her older brothers, meanwhile, were busy in their own business. When they finally arrived at their destination, the first one to get off was Darling, who kept a wide smile with a couple of missing baby teeth, she ran across the field before her mother reprimanded her, with an "a young lady should never run", the doors of the huge palace opened, a woman with a stern, thin face, ebony hair and blood red lips, behind her, a girl of a similar age to Darling, with extremely pale skin and blonde hair looked at the people in front of her with uncertainty.

“It is always a pleasure to receive you.” the woman began with a smile. “Apple, dear, greet the guests.”

“Uhm, my name is Apple White, nice to meet you.” the little girl smiled a little nervously, and then curtsied.

After a few introductions, the adults left to have a grown-up conversation, and the children were sent to the royal gardens to play.

Darling looked carefully around the place, there were apple trees everywhere, and many bushes rigorously cut in the shape of different figures, as well as marble benches, on one of them sat the blonde-haired girl.

The younger girl approached and sat down next to her. She smiled at her with her chattering teeth and the blonde smiled back.

“Your name is Apple, like the fruit, right?” said the little girl.

“Yes, just like the fruit, by my tale, I am the next Snow White.”

The platinum-haired girl looked at her curiously and seconds later had a great idea, she jumped up and ran as fast as her little legs allowed her to climb the nearest apple tree, She stretched out her small hand until she reached an apple, red and round, she looked at the fruit in her hand and smiled with satisfaction, it was perfect. At Apple's horrified gaze, she climbed down from the tree and ran back to where the blonde was sitting.

The tanned child curtsied, knelt down and offered the apple to the girl in front of her.

"Here you go, my princess!" she exclaimed, maybe she was small, but her parents already told her that this young girl, Apple White, was their future monarch, and as such she had to respect her, she also knew that it was her destiny to be with Daring, her older brother, meaning that Apple was also, her future sister-in-law.

The blonde didn't know how to react, they looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, their pupils, both blue, met each other, Apple took the fruit slightly hesitantly.

"Didn't your mother tell you that princesses don't climb trees?"

"Yes, but I'm not a princess." pleaded the girl, standing up. "I'm going to be a knight."

Apple looked at her even more puzzled, in her young life she had never heard something so absurd, the girl in front of her generated lots of doubts, such a cute girl could not be a knight, she had really fine features, and a very small and slim body.

Darling's smile disappeared, Apple looked terrified, neither of them understood what was going on, in her own way.

That first encounter might not have been the greatest, more encounters would come later, but it was certainly not a good first impression.

Darling woke up with a start, she had that dream again, a dream that used to haunt her frequently, even more in those last days, more than a dream, it was a vague memory that had been lodged in her mind for years, the memory of the very first time she saw Apple White, her future queen, the girl that a few weeks ago, she had woken up with a kiss, yes, with a kiss of her own.

Closed her eyes, and held both hands to her face, then, she kept her head looking up, hoping to fall asleep, but that never happened, before she knew it, the first rays of the sun were already coming through the window of her room.

These hit her full in the face, she didn't know what time it was, or how long she was awake, or how long she slept, but she was sure that staying up that late wasn't a good idea.

She let out a loud sigh and stretched her muscles to get out of bed, her toes squirmed at the contact with the cold wooden floor, which she found curious, since it was summer, she took no importance to it and prepared herself a bit to later leave her room for a walk, it was Saturday, so she would probably just walk through the forest and practice her fencing for a while, she diligently left her room, with the intention of not waking up her roommate, and went straight towards the school gardens when she noticed a familiar figure in the distance.

The purple-haired young woman in front of her was none other than Raven Queen, daughter of the evil queen, and when she noticed her presence, turned to greet her.

“Darling, how nice to see you! I thought no one would be up this early.”

“Well, what can I say, I'm a morning person.” she said with a chuckle.

“Did you go for a walk? I actually did, Apple's been a little.... Insufferable lately.”

Darling's heart skipped a beat after hearing that name.

“Look,” she continued. “You know, with everything that happened with my mother, Apple hasn't been sleeping very well the last few days, I know she tries to hide it in front of the others, but I am her roomie, and she gets very irritable when we are in our room, I know it's hard for her, but I wanted to give me some time on my own…”

“Oh, that sounds...” Darling wasn't quite sure what to say to that statement. “It must be tiring for both of you. Is Apple still feeling guilty about your mom?”

“In part, yes, but what has really had her very anxious apparently has more to do with your brother, you know, rumors that it wasn't him who woke her up have started to circulate around the school, and she's worried that it's only a matter of time before Blondie interrogates her.... and after that... Well, no one's quite sure what will happen next.”

Darling kept a forced smile, his blood ran cold when Raven mentioned that, 'Daring didn't wake Apple up' the others in the school knew, but then they would start to wonder who was the person who really woke her up.

“Well, I wanted to go out to clear my mind, I shouldn't be talking about Apple.... Are you going somewhere specific? I guess the stores don't open this early.” she smiled.

“Ah, well... I was thinking about going for a walk and then practicing for a while with.... you know... my sword.”

“Of course, knight's things, I think everyone always forgets that Darling Charming is a knight.”

The platinum-haired girl laughed at the latter and continued chatting with her friend for quite a while, until they finally said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.

She went deeper into the forest and began her practices, something she had been doing for a long time, she usually went out every weekend to that same area of the enchanted forest to train quietly, without anyone bothering her, it was a place where no one went, or at least it seemed that way, from time to time she met one or two people who decided to take a walk, or who had simply gotten lost.

The place where she used to hang out was very nice, it had a great variety of fruit trees and healing plants, plus very pretty flowers, it was a peaceful and not very well known place, maybe perfect for a picnic, although Darling didn't really have anyone to take there, she was more of a loner, sometimes she would talk to Raven, or Cerise, and most of the time her only company were her brothers and Rosabella, her roommate, it wasn't that she had trouble making friends, she just liked to be alone, but if necessary she could easily strike up a conversation with anyone.

It was probably around ten in the morning when she decided to take a break, she was a little hungry, but the town was far away, and she didn't want to walk that far to get food, so she decided to take advantage of her resources and look for a tree with fresh fruits to eat, she located an apple tree with ripe fruits that was a few meters away from her and decided to climb up there, she remembered the first time she talked to Apple, apples, for obvious reasons, always reminded her of her, but this particular situation took her back to that first encounter, in which a little Darling climbed a tree to give an apple to the future queen, she jumped when a voice called her from the ground taking her out of her thoughts, when she turned her eyes she found herself confused.

"Good morning Darling." smiled a blonde looking up at her.


	3. Damsels in distress.

She watched her closely for a few seconds, it was undeniable to anyone that Apple White was beautiful, her light hair and blue eyes were just as he remembered them the day he met her almost ten years ago, her features fine and delicate, worthy of a princess, and over the years her body had taken on a slender and curvaceous complexion, she was simply the perfect girl.

Darling realized that she hadn't answered for a long time, smiled nervously and immediately acted.

“Oh, Apple! What a... how nice to see you!”

The blonde laughed at the clear nervousness of the girl in front of her and then moved closer to the tree.

“Um, you see, I was... trying to reach a fruit to eat.”

“You still seem to have that habit of climbing trees.” she suggested with a smile.

Darling's eyes lit up vaguely.

"Oh, that... I, I thought you didn't remember it anymore."

"Well, it was certainly... amazing to see a princess climb a tree, I remember I started to cry and.... my mother had to come to see what was going on. I apologize for that, I was just a child."

"No, no, it's okay, it was a long time ago, you have nothing to apologize for." she said as she stretched out her hand to finally take an apple.

"Well, anyway, it wasn't worthy of a princess to get upset like that, it's just that sometimes I tend to be.... A little... Uhm... Temperamental."

"Don't worry, that happened when we were kids. " she concluded. "By the way... hum, what are you doing here? I mean, hardly anyone comes around here..."

"Oh. I wanted to take a little walk to... Clear my mind, although I don't plan to stay long, I'm starting to get hungry... What about you?"

"Well, sometimes I come here to practice with my sword for a while, I'd rather do it in a quiet place than do it at school." she sighed as she took a second apple.

"I understand, I heard that Headmaster Grimm didn't quite agree with your.... Hum, decision to be a gentleman."

"Yes... Many people don't agree, my brothers were surprised at first, they supported me, but I don't think they agree at all, about my parents... it's... complicated..." she said with a melancholic voice to then jump down from the tree with a jump.

Apple took a step back after seeing how Darling was about to jump.

"Uh... You... Uhm... Do you want one?" said the girl hesitantly as she held out her hand. "I have a few more, and maybe you should eat something before continuing."

"Apples... My favorite, thank you, Darling." and unlike the time so many years ago, this time she gladly accepted the fruit.

They both sat on a hollow log and ate quietly without chatting too much, it wasn't as if they had ever been close, their relationship was merely derived from their parents' friendship, and although they didn't get along badly, they had never had long conversations unless the situation warranted it, they had known each other all their lives, but they were complete strangers.

The quiet that came after that seemed sepulchral, it wasn't as if they had anything to chat about, Apple didn't look uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to want to start the conversation, for her part, the platinum haired one was sweating, her palms felt slightly damp, she was indeed uncomfortable, or rather, she was nervous, because she didn't know what to do or say next without feeling like she might completely ruin the moment.

"Are the knighting classes interesting? "asked the blonde breaking the silence.

"Yes! They are just amazing, although, I thought they would be much more difficult, it's nothing I haven't already done as the white knight, but still.... It's a dream come true."

It had been a month now since Darling had started —much to Headmaster Grimm's chagrin— taking knighting classes, a class not commonly taken by girls, much less by princesses, but she seemed to enjoy it like a little girl enjoys a new toy.

Apple couldn't help noticing how the younger girl's eyes lit up when she talked about her greatest passion, it was almost as if she was watching that little girl who used to go and play in the grass to catch insects in the garden of her castle, something that when she was a little girl she found simply disgusting, In those times she just sat next to her and watched her, she preferred to be a spectator, even though she was dirty and full of little scratches from playing rough, Darling seemed happy when she played "like a boy" as Apple's mother said.

The future Snow White's blue eyes were lost in watching her classmate, who proudly narrated how she defeated a dragon in her favorite class.

"Well, that sounds like fun, although it's not really my style, I think I'm more of a damsel in distress. " she laughed, once Darling had finished his narration.

"Well, if there were no damsels in distress, we knights wouldn't have anyone to save, isn't it? " sighed with a smile.

"You're right, and without knights, I wouldn't have my happy ending."

The taller one's peach-colored cheeks turned as red as the half-eaten apple she held in her hands upon hearing that, Apple's happy ending she thought, the kiss that was meant to awaken her, the kiss of a prince.

The older girl noticed the absence of a response from the other princess after her comment, she wanted to say something, but the words didn't come out, Apple was so good with words that when something went wrong she just didn't know what to do.

Silence returned, and their gazes did not meet again for quite a while, the level of awkwardness had risen to catastrophic levels.

"I think I should keep practicing." said Darling, ducking his head. "I want to be done before six o'clock.

"Yeah, I... I have homework still, it was supposed to be a short walk, so…"

They both stood up and looked at each other again.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." said the younger one looking away.

"Sure, see you later Darling, it was nice catching up with you."

Apple waved goodbye, Darling did the same, and then the blonde walked away until she was lost in the dense forest. The Charming took a breath of air and then exhaled it, she sat down on the ground with her back leaning against a thick trunk and held her head with her right hand, that had resulted in a total failure, the conversation was not only most uncomfortable, but she also had to mention about her destiny, She sighed once more and picked up her sword, which had been stuck in the ground for a while, shook her clothes a little and started to practice until her mind stopped spinning.


	4. Consequences.

Weekend had flown by since that untimely encounter, fortunately, Darling had managed to keep his thoughts away from how beautiful the blonde was, something he hadn't accomplished in a long time, during the last few days he had occupied himself with activities and hard training, all in order to clear his mind, which apparently, had worked.

Darling was on her way to her first class of the day, when she felt a look on her back, she didn't take it seriously, until she began to feel another one, and then another, like a warrior, she had to be alert and always be aware of her surroundings, but like a girl in love who had not slept well in days, she supposed it was just her own paranoia, she entered the classroom and collapsed on her seat, she ran her hand over her face in an attempt to wake up a little, maybe she was calmer, but she still didn't sleep her eight hours, maybe not even her five hours.  
Her classmates kept entering the classroom, and from time to time one or another would turn to look at her, some even whispered among themselves, she didn't understand what was going on, but if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that it couldn't be anything good.

As time went on she became more and more anxious, and the professor's arrival in the classroom didn't improve her situation, her whole relaxing weekend went down the drain as anguish began to flood her head.

"Three."

"Huh?"

"I said, three." repeated her teacher placing a sheet of paper on Darling's desk.

She took the sheet in her hands and analyzed it, indeed, she got a three on her last exam, she sure was in another world, and not like she usually did, because even spending half of her time in Wonderland she was getting perfect grades, it was just that this time she wasn't managing to pay attention to any of her classes.

The teacher walked past, and continued handing out the sheets to the other students, leaving a sad Charming cowering in her seat. While the result of her last test had left her somewhat dazed, she had more important things to worry about, because just before she could react in the proper manner, a voice caught her attention.

"Darling Charming, to the principal's office." was heard coming from the loudspeaker.

Her day couldn't get any worse. She put the paper away and headed to the previously mentioned location, to her luck, most were in class at that time, so she didn't attract much attention in the hallways.

She was finally in front of the imposing door of Principal Grimm's office.  
Darling was not short, on the contrary, she was quite tall, but at that moment she felt tiny, she was afraid, and she didn't even know why, or maybe she just wanted to pretend she didn't know, because a thousand things in her mind told her otherwise.

She opened the door, and the renowned principal of the school was waiting for her, sitting in his chair.

"Take a seat." he ordered with a serious look on his face.

"Miss Charming. Have a seat," he began. "We were well aware that letting her join the hair practices was one thing, but this is definitely intolerable."

A cold bead of sweat slid down the blonde's forehead.

"The school board had their suspicions that you were a Rebel." he continued as he cleared her throat. "But this is taking it to another extreme."

The young woman moved her lips slightly, not enough to make a sound, but enough for the director to notice.

"Well?" questioned the man leaning across his desk. "If you have something to say, say it now."

But nothing came out of his mouth.

"Well, if you're not going to say it, I will," he concluded after a few seconds of awkward silence. "You kissed Apple White."

She was frozen, she didn't believe the director would ever find out, much less did she believe it would have any consequences, or rather, she didn't believe it would have any consequences besides the pain in her chest at the thought of the princess, or maybe that's what she wanted to make herself believe.

"Is it that terrible?" she muttered, almost imperceptibly, and I say almost, because Headmaster Grimm did hear it."

"Excuse me?"

"Is it that terrible... Me kissing Apple White?"

The headmaster's face turned bright red, he was sure the princess was joking, and it wasn't funny.

"I think you are misunderstanding the seriousness of the matter." he said, as he rose from his seat. "I am quite sure you are aware of what the Snow White fairy tale implies for the fairy tale world. If there is one fairy tale that must be fulfilled to the letter, it is that one."

"But I... I woke up Apple! " she said somewhat irritated, because she was aware of what White's tale meant, because it was something she had to listen to since her early childhood. "So what if I am Apple's Prince Charming?"

An indescribable grimace appeared on Grimm's face.

"A princess, as you might guess, Miss Charming, cannot be a prince." he spat, emphasizing the words princess and prince. "This is, not only a total lack of respect for her older brother, but also a complete aberration."

"Daring couldn't wake up Apple!" he spat angrily. "I did."

"In situations totally different from those occurring in Apple's tale, this event does not define his future."

And maybe he was right, she had never thought about it, but maybe, and just maybe, the man in front of her was right.

"What was I supposed to do?" she said averting her gaze. "She was there, almost dead, poisoned by an apple."

"Wait for your prince, abide by the rules."

"If I may say so, that is completely absurd."

"That's the natural thing to do, Miss Charming, it's the order of things, and it's the way our society has prevailed, following the rules."

"I don't understand... I just wanted to save her."

"And look where that got us. I think your little game of trying to be a knight went too far."

Darling was seething with anger, he didn't understand how the director could be so foolish.

"I didn't even kiss her, I was just trying to revive her, it wasn't intentional." she felt like a complete coward excusing herself that way, maybe she didn't kiss her, but she certainly wished she was the one who rescued the princess.

"We'll have to discuss that with her parents."

All the courage Darling had mustered to face Grimm had left her body, if her parents found out, gosh, she didn't even want to imagine what would happen if her parents found out, or even worse, what would happen if Apple's mother found out.

"I'm not bringing Snow White into this." the director said that, almost as if he were reading her mind. "I know it can get a bit.... Radical."

The girl just looked down at the floor, grieving, she genuinely felt like a damsel in distress and she was in distress indeed.

"When the problem with Raven and the Rebels happened, I wasn't able to get to talk it over with your mother, but I'm sure in this particular case, yours will be of great help in solving our little identity problem, won't they Miss Charming?"

The girl nodded, resigned and reluctantly.

"You can retire to your class, I'm not taking up any more of your time." he said then focused his attention on a stack of papers on his desk. "I'll keep an eye on you."

The light-eyed girl got up from her chair and walked to the door, as nervous, or maybe more nervous than she was the first time she walked through this one about twenty minutes ago.

"And Miss Charming." the man said in a completely neutral tone, catching the blonde's attention. "It is strictly forbidden for you to attend the knight's class as of today."

She nodded once more, and walked out of that hellish place, turned down the hallway, tears threatening to flow, and then the bell announcing the end of first period rang. It was going to be a long day.


	5. All the things.

Soon, students began to crowd into the vast corridors, the young princess desperately searched with her eyes for a gap in the crowd to slip away without attracting too much attention, after all, anyone who had been paying attention had heard how she was called to the principal's office minutes before.

After accomplishing her task, she made it to the next class without much of a hitch, but as had happened before, her classmates kept looking at her, maybe they thought she didn't notice, but she sure did.

She was starting to get anxious, luckily, she was sharing the next class with her roommate, so at least she could get distracted. She just had to hold on for fifty more minutes, after that she could chat with Rosabella, and after that, it would finally be time for lunch.

Over the past few days, he had distanced himself from Beauty, actually, he had distanced himself from everyone.

As had been the case in the previous days, Charming paid little or almost no attention to the class, she should have worried about that, the three on her exam from the previous class didn't bode anything good, but in spite of that, there he was, looking out the window as she had been accustomed to do for a few days now, he probably had bigger problems than a failing grade.

Once the sound of the bell reached her ears, she got up from her seat and walked out of the classroom with her classmates, a rare sight, as lately she was so absorbed in her thoughts that she simply stayed in her place, minding her own business until she was finally the only one in the classroom.

But this time it was different.

She hurried out and to her good fortune, probably having her first supply for the first time that day, ran into her friend in the hallway.

"Darling." the chestnut spoke first, before the alluded could even say hello. "Have you seen the mirror blog yet?"

Darling's blood froze, Rosabella wasn't the type to get involved in gossip very often, which was why she thought the worst when the Bella heiress mentioned this.

The platinum-haired girl's countenance was adorned by a frown, and she instantly denied at her friend's question, who in response, showed her the news on her MirrorPad.

"Breaking news: the whole school knows that Daring Charming's kiss was a totally fairy fail when he couldn’t wake Apple from enchanted sleep. A.k.a. he’s not her destined prince. Awkward! But wait, there's more, reliable sources claim to know the identity of that mysterious Prince Charming who woke up the future Snow White, don't forget to sync up later for this spellbinding live reveal, Blondie Lockes out." said the next Goldilocks on screen, Darling wasn't the type to keep up with the freshest Ever After High gossip, much less now that she had a thousand things on her mind.

However, she couldn't feel a slight shiver run down her spine with this particular news, "All this time we've believed it's the wrong Charming," the phrase stuck in your mind, making her unable to understand everything Blondie said subsequent to this, "could it be that he's found out?" she thought, gosh, even Principal Grimm knew, nothing could assure her that Blondie didn't.

"Darling?" said her friend, managing to catch the named one's attention.

"Huh, yes?"

"I... I was asking you what you thought about the news."

"Ah... that... well, I don't know what you want me to tell you, I don't have much to say about it." she lied, she didn't want to bring up the subject, even knowing it was a ticking time bomb, she just wanted to put it off as long as possible, just as she had been doing up to that point.

"I understand, I was just worried that people were overwhelming you with questions."

"Questions?" she was dismayed, and as before, she didn't want to continue that conversation. "No one asked me any questions."

"Well, I heard several people in the hallway whispering things. A lot of them thought to ask you if it was that the relationship between Dexter and Daring had been affected, I'm surprised Blondie didn't even interview you or anything like that."

The youngest Charming was quite confused, what did her siblings' relationship have to do with this?

"Dexter... ?" she asked, maybe Daring was the one involved in this whole Prince Charming thing, certainly. But what was strange to him was that they would include his twin brother in it.

"Yes, after all, he was the one who woke Apple up."

By the time the blonde had finished processing what her roommate had said, she was both upset and relieved, after all, the rumors about her brother didn't explain why everyone had been watching her during the first few hours of class.

She was now in a dilemma, if she went along with the flow and confirmed that her brother was Apple's prince charming in order to divert attention, she would probably end up causing more trouble, but if she defended Dexter, that would leave her as the only suspect.

"Or as the only guilty one," she said to herself, because after the little talk she had with the director that's how she felt, as if she had committed a horrible crime, even if she knew that wasn't the case, she couldn't help but feel bad.

"I don't... I really don't know, I don't know who woke Apple up" she lied finally, with a feeling of guilt starting to spread throughout her body. "I can't say if it was Dex, but I can't deny it either."

"Well... You and your brothers are pretty close aren't you? I'm sure if it had been Dexter, he would have talked to you about it."

"Maybe..." she mused, she was right, they were pretty close, though not just close enough to tell him what happened, she wanted to, she really wanted to, she wanted to clear things up with her brother, but she was probably more of a coward than she weighed.

"Anyway, what everyone is most worried about is how Daring might react if he finds out it was Dexter who took his destiny from him." she said, but quickly corrected herself. "Of course, if Dexter turns out to be the one who kissed her, we can't jump to conclusions."

"Daring...? Well, he can be a bit intense, but he doesn't usually get into fights, he just cares about.... Well, himself." she bit her lower lip in response to the anxiety she felt.

"It would be a complete disaster if your brothers end up getting involved in a fight."

"I suppose... Although, now that you mention it, I'm worried about how Dad might react to the fact that Daring isn't Snow White's prince…"

"Your father?" her friend looked a little surprised. "I think that's the first time you've mentioned him."

"Yeah, well, Dad and I don't have the best relationship in the world, neither me nor Dexter, he's always leaned more towards Daring." she confessed somewhat downcast. "Dexter and I are very different, neither Dexter is the prince he would like me to be, let alone I am the little lady he wants."

Rosabella noticed the melancholy in the last words of the princess, and as an answer, she only placed her hand on Darling's shoulder, who in return sighed, and then gave her a smile.

They changed the topic and talked about trivial things until the professor arrived, somewhat late, so they had a good bit of time to chat to make up for the lost time of the last few days.

Darling didn't say it, of course she wasn't going to say it, but the whole "next big Blondie reveal" thing was making her anxious, yes, maybe that was the word that most fit how she felt about the whole thing. Part of her wanted to convince herself that no one would ever believe that a girl could have been the one to wake up Apple White, that everyone would believe it was her brother, and even if the self-appointed reporter said it had all been the work of the youngest Charming, people would think Blondie was lying to get relevance on her show, but deep down, she knew that wouldn't be the case.

Daring had refused to give interviews, although rumor spread that he was not Snow White's Prince Charming, it wasn't in his plans to reveal who was, whether he was doing it to protect his sister, or to protect his reputation, was a total mystery to the youngest. 

The girl had that bitter taste in her mouth, that feeling that something wasn’t right, that at any moment something terrible would happen, and as much as she wanted to get those thoughts out of her mind, they simply wouldn't go away.

She continued with her class, trying to pay attention for the first time in days, maybe if she followed her method of keeping busy, all that stress would magically go away, it sounded absurd, but she needed something to hold on to, and somehow it worked, because before she knew it, the end of third period was announced, the time had come.

She felt like she was about to stand trial, the anguish was eating away at her. It was then that for the first time in days she thought about Dexter, how would her brother feel about all this, after all, he was the prime suspect, and while for the Charming in the middle it wouldn't result in a big deal, that didn't change the fact that her twin hated attention, he was always a relatively quieter and more withdrawn boy than the other two, so Darling couldn't help but think that Dex must be coping with his five minutes of fame rather badly.

Daring couldn't have been having a much better time, this whole situation must have been constantly reminding him that he wasn't the Apple prince, and although he seemed to be getting through it, his little sister knew perfectly well that he was just pretending to be okay with it, the older one was too proud for such a low blow not to affect him.

She couldn't help but feel selfish for not thinking about how her actions would affect the people she loved most in the world, her brothers were always there for her, even when they thought it was strange for her to play swordsman, they were always there to lend her one of their toys when her mother confiscated Darling's little swords in an attempt to make her ‘behave like a lady’.

And that wasn't only one of Darling's greatest virtues, but also her worst flaw, she always thought about others, it was something inherent in her person, and realizing that for days she had only worried about herself, made her feel sick, even when it was for her own mental health.

She also realized that it had been days since she had talked to the boys, Dexter was so busy trying to make something work between him and Raven, that he didn't have much time for his sister anymore, something that didn't bother the younger girl, she admired the Rebel, and was happy that him had found love, even if it still wasn't anything serious, gosh, he even spent less time being Blondie's cameraman so he could divide his time between studies and dating who should have been the Evil Queen, whether or not that bothered the curly-haired reporter was a mystery to Darling.

On the other hand, there was her relationship with the eldest of the Charming brothers, she could barely and barely talk to him after what happened, because if Daring ever brought up the subject, she could swear she was going to break, and she didn't want to. It wasn't like the blond didn't want to talk about it either, while his first reaction to seeing that Apple had woken up was one of relief, shame gnawed at him, and even hiding it, it was clear that he held some resentment towards his little sister. Thinking about it only made her feel more and more miserable, her brother perhaps needed her, and she was lost in her own world, as usual.

She was lost in thought, but this time she didn't wait for anyone to snap her out of her trance, she simply sighed and turned to her best friend, ready to get on with whatever it was she had in store for her that day. 

It wasn't as if Rosabella was planning to interrupt her either, she wasn't stupid, she knew something was bothering Darling, she knew her well, but she also knew her well enough to know that sometimes it was better to let her deal with her stuff, or failing that, wait until the platinum haired one was ready to open up and talk about it, after all, if there was something that characterized Darling Charming, that was how mysterious she could be.

With each step she took, the young woman mentally prepared herself for what was to come next, her strategic nature couldn't help but create an equation with a myriad of variables, some outcomes were more disastrous than others, but without a doubt, none of them left her satisfied.

She talked with her roommate during the trip, deciding not to be proud, and tell Rosabella that lately she had been a little distracted, and that she needed a couple of notes, her friend smiled at that, maybe she did not give details, but she was beginning to admit that there was something that was keeping her from peace, and that was a start, the daughter of Bella agreed, and the conversation continued flowing as usual.

At a certain point in their journey, just before they reached the cafeteria, they were enveloped by a suffocating, noisy crowd, a strange mixture of whispers and murmurs filled the atmosphere, and Darling knew it was not an omen of anything good.

"The noise won't even let me hear my own thoughts, wanna go somewhere else?" the brunette said, she knew her friend preferred quiet places, and so did she herself, and even the obvious signs that something interesting was going on, nei neither of them were the type of people who liked to get involved in gossip, the future Bella had inherited her mother's thirst for adventure, but that didn't mean she didn't prefer to be part of the crowd.

The Charming nodded, and they both decided to turn around and go back the way they came, the knight knew about the secret passages of the school, she had never been discovered, but still she used to avoid them unless it was strictly necessary to stay out of trouble, although this occasion warranted it, maybe they could get to the cafeteria some other way.

She had taken maybe about five or maybe it was ten steps, even more, because at that moment her heart started beating so hard that she couldn't remember much of the event.

She only knew that the moment she heard Blondie Lockes' singing voice coming from the school's loudspeakers, her feet stopped moving. Suddenly, the commotion ceased, and although the occasional murmur was still audible, the noise diminished noticeably.

Her friend was quite confused by the situation, Darling had come to a complete standstill in the middle of the hallway, and she didn't need to be a genius to know why. 

She gave her a concerned look, though the princess didn't seem to notice.

"This is Blondie Lockes reporting with the exclusive you' ve been waiting all day for." the Rebel's stomach flipped slightly at those words, but she couldn't help but turn to see the woman who was probably about to sign her death warrant. "As we all know by now, when the Evil Queen took control of Ever After High our world was turned upside down, and although Apple White was fulfilling her destiny, and many students witnessed her in the iconic glass coffin of her fairy tale, few were able to see what really happened when Apple awoke."

Every one of the blonde's words were true, to Darling's luck perhaps, there were few people around when Apple began to convulse, her companions had opted that the best option would be that only those closest to the princess would stay that afternoon to keep her company by the coffin, and even the few people who were around, like Hunter or Melody, left when the atmosphere became tense during the Charming's little discussion, so as far as the princess knew, the only ones who witnessed the event were Maddie, Ashlynn, Briar, the O'Hair twins and her own brother.

The taller one's light blue eyes just wandered without daring to look at the screen, just concentrating on what the reporter had to say.

"But today, for the first time ever live, as usual I come with the most breaking news at Ever After High" at this point in the broadcast, the crowd had stopped murmuring, or at least now they were whispering so low that the princess couldn't quite hear them. Cold sweat ran from her forehead to her chin, and her best friend didn't miss it.

"Darl, I know you're not comfortable with this, if you want we can leave. " suggested the bespectacled one.

"No." she muttered before raising the volume of her words slightly. "I'm staying, I need to hear this."

Her voice sounded somewhere between a strange mix of authority and fear, the daughter of Bella knew something wasn't right, but seeing her classmate like this definitely worried her more than she could ever expect.

"I know you're all wondering who woke Apple from her eternal slumber, as promised, today I bring you for the first time and exclusively the truth."

Before Darling could turn around to finally see the screen, images she wished had never appeared did.

The peach-skinned princess could clearly be seen joining lips with an oblivious Apple White.

The hubbub soon followed. Darling was still staring at the screen, she was afraid to see the reaction of the others if she took her eyes off it, would they be looking at her?, what kind of face would her best friend have on right now?, it had taken her so long to work up the courage to look at that damn screen that now she didn't want to stop looking at it.

They were not even whispers anymore, they were dozens of people talking about the subject, so many people that it was hard for the girl to identify what they were saying beyond a few phrases like ‘it must be a joke’ or ‘this can't be true’.

The reporter's singsong voice was present again, which partially calmed the noise.

"Apparently all this time we had believed that the one who would wake up Snow White was the wrong Charming!" she said looking at the screen while arching an eyebrow. 

"Could it be that this strange twist of fate is due to the Rebels?"

The momentary silence ended as soon as the curly-haired one mentioned that last one, people were upset, scared, they were beginning to believe that destroying the book of legendary tales had more impact on the future of Ever After than they could have imagined.

"That's right folks, just like you hear. We all knew that destroying the book of legendary tales could end the fairy tales, but we never imagined it could warp the endings."

Darling was beginning to feel dizzy, the more she listened to what Blondie said, the worse she felt, was it really that bad?, the girl's words on the screen made all the progress she had made trying not to think about what had happened come crashing down.

"Could Darling Charming really be Snow White's Prince Charming?, or is this really all just the work of Raven Queen and the destruction of the book?"

Cold sweat began to run down the forehead of the princess, who was startled to feel a hand on her shoulder, for the first time in what seemed like hours to her, she turned, and found her best friend, who was trying to smile at her to calm her down. 

Rosabella motioned with her head, indicating to her roommate that it was time to leave the place. The knight exhaled deeply and with her eyes down, she began to walk, hoping not to attract too much attention, since at least so far, they had not noticed her presence.

Just as she was about to leave the hallway, a new wave of chatter flooded the room. She glanced sideways at the crowd one more time before leaving and perhaps locking herself in her room for a couple of hours or days, when she saw something that made her eyes snap open.

Apple White was standing in the middle of the crowd, her face pale, paler than normal, and paler than she had ever seen it. People were making way for the princess, still not stopping their murmuring, though now with a little more discretion. 

Apple did not say anything, she just watched the screen, where the image of the kiss was still positioned in the upper right corner, her blue eyes seemed to analyze the scene, as if she didn't quite believe it, as soon as she took her eyes off the screen, she began to look nervously from one side to the other, in all directions to where the other students were, until her gaze remained on a fixed point.

The blue eyes of the future Snow White were fixed on the lighter ones of the girl who had woken her up, her expression was somewhat difficult to read, but what was clear, was that it didn't bring with it any pleasant feelings. 

Everyone noticed that the blonde was looking at something (or someone) and it was then that the student body noticed Darling.

People were still talking, but for both girls the atmosphere felt deafeningly silent, they were looking at each other, worried, maybe that was the word that best described how they felt, without taking their eyes off the counter. 

The noise didn't stop until a loud shout echoed in everyone's ears.

"Back to your classes everyone, lunchtime is over! " growled the principal, making his presence known in the middle of the hallway. "Now."

Almost as if he had broken a trance, Principal Grimm's voice made Apple look away from the princess, the principal watched with a frown at the blonde, who without holding it any longer, let tears fall from her eyes before running away from that place.

The knight stayed in the hallway, which was soon empty, no one wanted to mess with the director, who at that very moment looked very angry.

"We'll talk later." he said, while directing his gaze towards the youngest Charming.

Then, the director left, leaving the knight and her friend alone in the corridor.


End file.
